Category Archives: Registration

Please read the following Questions + Answers carefully before registering for your Fall Semester classes. While this process can be complex for the first-timer, the following suggestions will help answer most of your questions. To get started, assemble and read the information sent to you from the Alfred University Registrar’s Office. This includes Custom-printed registration Planning Form with Name, ID#, and Alternate PIN, Instructions for a first-time login to BannerWeb, and Web Registration Guide (Web Registration Guide).

Questions + Answers__________________________________________________

How do I register and use BannerWeb?
All students register online on the BannerWeb site. Refer to the instructions for a first-time login to BannerWeb that was part of your information packet from the Registrar. You will also need the other information from that mailing to fully register (especially your ID and Pin Number and the BannerWeb Registration Guide.) If you did not receive an Information packet please contact the Registrar’s office at 607-871-2123 or e-mail registrar@alfred.edu.

What are the BFA Requirements?
A minimum of 128 credits are required for graduation from Alfred University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Art and Design. You are encouraged to track your own progress toward graduation by keeping records based on successful completion of course work. You can review your progress toward graduation on the Banner system.

The total of 128 credits must be distributed as follows:
Studio 72
Writing 4
Humanities 8
Other academics 13
Art History 17
Electives 14
Senior project 0
Total 128
PHED 4 (additional PHED credits may not be used toward elective requirement.)
Total 132

So how many credits should I take?
A minimum of 30 credits should be completed by the end of the first year so that you can go on to sophomore year. A normal load is 16 credits, but students have the option to take as little as 12 or up to 18 credits depending on their abilities, schedule and outside activities. If a student chooses to take 14 credits in the Fall they will be required to complete at least 16 in the Spring for a total of 30 to register as a sophomore. Additional tuition is charged for more than 18 credits and must be approved by the Dean, unless the student is in the Honors Program.

How do I register for the Foundation Program?
All students accepted into the BFA Foundation Program must register for 8 credits of Foundation l (10676-ART101-001). Go to BannerWeb, follow the instructions and begin by adding this course! Students will be assigned specific sections once they arrive on campus. After you add this course you will have registered for a total of 8 credits.

What’s the Foundation Schedule?
The Foundation Program meets every morning, five days per week. On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday studio classes start at 8:00 until 11:00 am. On Wednesday mornings, the entire freshman class gets together for group activities, films, field trips, lectures and discussions from 9:00 until 11:15 am. This is also when we hold the live lecture and talk show called STUDIO Visits. (See who visited last year at http://austudiovisits.wordpress.com/) When you are planning your schedule keep in mind that your Academic and other courses will need to be scheduled around these time slots.

What about Art History?
Refer to either your paper copy or the Alfred website for the Class Schedule Listing for Fall. You will notice that the Art History course numbers start with ARTH 12_, ARTH13_ or ARTH14_. Each of these courses are worth 2 credits. To complete the Art History requirement for the first year you must take one class beginning with each of those prefixes for a total of 6 credits. You will take one course one semester and the other two during the other semester. All course numbers are offered each of the two semesters and do not need to be taken in numerical sequence. It is very important that you complete all three of these courses before the end of your freshman year, since you will not be able to take them again until you are a Junior.

The Art History courses meet for only 7 weeks or one half semester, so two may be taken in one semester. We refer to these half semesters as A Block (first 7 weeks) and B Block (second 7 weeks). The Class Schedule Listing on Banner indicates which half of the semester each course meets. It is not recommended that you take two of these courses during the same 1/2 semester block. Please be aware of this when scheduling. In addition each art history course is to be taken concurrently with a 0 credit discussion class which meets once a week on wednesday evenings. These plenary courses are meant to enhance the art history classes through the presentation of films, lesson review and an introduction to the library and research methods. ** During registration students must for art history and the discussion section at the same time.

What about my English and Humanities Requirements?
With few exceptions, all students should take one English course and one Humanities course in their first year. Both courses are assigned 4 credits and should not be taken in the same semester. It makes no difference which semester you choose to take one or the other, although if writing has not been your strength you may want to consider taking your writing requirement first as it will help your success in other classes.

Can you tell me more about the Writing Requirement?
Students should register for the appropriate level course depending upon their scores on college entrance exams. School of Art and Design students will adhere to criteria utilized by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for placement in ENGL 101, 102 or exempt. These courses may be limited, so if you do not get in the first semester, you certainly will in the Spring.

SAT Writing SAT ACT

ENGL 101 499 or below 539 or below 25 or below

ENGL 102 500 – 699 540 – 739 26 – 29

Exempt 700 or above 740 or above 30 or above

Can you explain the Humanities Requirement with a little more detail? Over the course of your 4 years of studies you will be required to take 8 credits (2 courses) of Humanities. ** We recommend that students take at least 1, 4 credit course in the first year of study. These courses are organized into areas or groups. You will be choosing one course from B or D, and one from the Other Humanities or A areas. Below I’ve listed the requirements and course names, but the best way to make sure that you are taking a course that fulfills the BFA humanities requirement is to go to BannerWeb. Once there, go to Class Schedule, scroll down to Attribute type and select either .BFA:Humanties (Area B or D) or BFA: Other Humanities. Only courses that fulfill the requirement will be listed for that semester. Keep in mind that topics change each semester. So you may want to plan ahead if there is a specific course you’d like to take in the future!

You will need to take one 4-credit course from among 100-200 level offerings listed under:BFA: Humanities (area B or D course attribute)Here are a few examples, there are many more, so refer to the online registration lists or the check sheet!
The World in the 20th Century-13626 HIST 107-01
The World in the 20th Century-13042 HIST 107-02
The Making of Europe 13617 HIST 110-01
The Rise and Fall of Iberia, 1450-1950-11657 HIST 151-01
American History 12465 HIST 211-01
American History 10208 HIST 211-02
Introduction to Philosophy 10302 PHIL 101-01
Introduction to Philosophy 13609 PHIL 101-02
Ethics 12651 PHIL 281-02
Philosophy of the Arts I 10304 PHIL 282-01
Introduction to World Religions 13242 RLGS 105-02
Birth of the Christian Tradition 13621 RLGS 254-01

The second humanities must be a 4-credit 100-200 level course from (area B or D) or from the BFA Other Humanities (course attribute) Here are a few examples, there are many more, so refer to the online registration lists or the check sheet!
Cultural Anthropology 10001 ANTH 110-01
Mass Media and American Life 10033 COMM 110-01
20th Century Poetry 13700 ENGL 216-01
Tales of King Arthur 13743 ENGL 221-01
Shakespeare in Cinema 12516 ENGL 225-01
American Politics 10351 POLS 110-01
American Politics 10352 POLS 110-02
World Politics 12825 POLS 271-01
Introduction to Sociology 10404 SOCI 110-01
Introduction to Theatre 13792 THEA 110-01

What is the check sheet? The BFA Check sheet, and other check sheets are templates for what you need to graduate with a given degree. There is one for Art History BS Check Sheet, one for BFA BFA Check Sheet and Art Education BFA Ed Minor.

What if I am interested in the Art Education Program? Students interested in Art Education will not need to register for any special classes at this time. You will learn more about the program and it’s requirements once here. If you just can’t wait and want to learn more, contact Prof. Corrie Burdick, the awesome Art Ed educator at burdickcb@alfred.edu.

What if I am a Transfer or Honors student? Transfer and Honor students may wish to make adjustments or additions to their schedule. Advice is available by calling Shelly Grant at grantsh@alfred.edu or at 607-871-2441.

Are there other options that I might consider?
The University has many 2 credit offerings that are popular with students. Many Foundations students take courses in the Performing Arts including Music, Dance, and Theater. Spend some time looking over the course offerings for Fall. Sign up for something that really interests you! This is the time to explore new things or build on skills that you have already started to develop. If you are thinking about study abroad, then you might want to learn more about a specific country or take a language. And remember, you don’t have to do it all in the first semester, you have four years!

I have a question that you haven’t answered, who can I talk to?
For questions related to the on-line registration system and BannerWeb contact the Registrar’s office at 607-871-2123 or e-mail registrar@alfred.edu. For questions related to School of Art advising contact Shelly Grant at grantsh@alfred.edu or at 607-871-2441.

You may also take a moment and visit the Alfred University, School of Art and Design website at http://art.alfred.edu. There you can access lots of information about your school!

Please read the following information carefully before the advising meeting next week with Ted, Katie, and Angie. While this process can be complex, the following suggestions will help answer most of your questions. Remember we are here to help you with the process, but you need to be prepared. Do your research!

Here you’ll find the bfa-checklist that we handed out in class today. Take a look and save a copy for your records, so that you will always know your progress towards graduation. Next week come to class on Wednesday prepared with a plan for your Spring semester. Bring a list of courses you think interest you and what you have already taken.

Registration begins on Tuesday, November 12th for Freshmen. We will start classes at 9am in order for you to have time to register first thing in the morning.

Have YOU registered yet? It’s important that all students register as soon as possible to take advantage of any open seats in courses. Check to see that you have at least 12-14 credit hours. If you do not, it may affect your financial aid. In case you still need a class, you might want to check out new courses that were recently added:

A couple of weeks ago senior art / art therapy student Victor Franco visited our Wednesday class to share information about studying Art Therapy at Alfred University. Below are some of his points and places to get more information. If you need a copy of his handout click Art Therapy AU info sheet[1] to download.

*Art Therapy is the marriage of art and psychology. Art is used in counseling settings (social work, nursing homes, hospitals) to help patients cope with/uncover traumatic events and sources in their lives. A therapist may see the art creating process itself as healing, may see the finished art product(s) as tools for diagnosis and treatment, or both.

*Alfred offers “pre-art therapy advising” (preparation for future interest) because an art therapy
degree requires a graduate school education and Alfred does not have a graduate (masters) level art therapy program.

*”Pre-art therapy advisors” are Robin Howard in the School of Art and Design, Gordon Atlas in the Psychology Department (reachable at 607.871.2213), and Corrie Burdick in Education (reachable at 607.871.2810). Fine Art and Psychology student Victor D. Franco may be reached with questions at vdf1@alfred.edu.

*In order to be accepted into graduate school for art therapy, a school typically requires 18 credits of art (diversity in studio subjects: clay, drawing, painting), and 12 credits of psychology (Intro. to Psychology, Cognitive or Social Development, Abnormal Psychology, and sometimes Theories of Personality).

*An “Intro. to Art Therapy” class is being offered by the Psychology Department this spring 2012 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:20 to 4:35 pm. It is, as of now, offered every other spring.